I'd been having Braxton-Hicks contractions since January, but around 7pm on the evening of April 2nd my contractions started to feel much more noticeable. I had been mentally prepared for another back labor (posterior-turned baby), but because I could still feel the baby's back in the front of my belly the contractions didn't feel too painful. In fact, I wasn't sure if I really was experiencing the beginning of labor so I downplayed the contractions to David's mother (who was spending the night at our house) and said goodnight to her around 11pm without telling her that the contractions were becoming more frequent. Thankfully I was able to go to sleep, too.
At 2am on April 3rd, Audra woke up (needing to go potty) and while I was tending to her I felt a contraction that felt very real. Less than 8 minutes later I had another contraction, and I knew I wouldn't be going back to sleep. David woke up at this time also, but I told him to go back to sleep since I wasn't sure how long I would be in labor.
By 5:30am contractions were coming about every 5 minutes so we called The Birth Center in Wilmington, DE. After talking to Midwife Sarah we decided to head to The Birth Center before Route 95 filled up with rush hour traffic. What a blessing that Mom Cundey was already at our house so we didn't have to worry about finding someone to watch Audra so early in the morning!!
We got to The Birth Center at 6:30am. Midwife Sarah checked me and I found out that I was already 6cm dilated. So Sarah started filling the tub in the water birth room and we got settled in.
Around 8am there was a switch in the on-call staff and Midwife Katie Mansur came in. Katie grew up in Penfield, NY, which is next to the town that I called home. She was the first midwife that I met when we started prenatal care at The Birth Center in September 2011, and we've had a lot to talk about since that first meeting. She was also the midwife who was with us for 6 hours of my labor with in January 2012, though Dorinda was the midwife who actually caught Audra. When she came in she said that she was excited that she'd actually get to catch this baby. I was glad that she was there, too. She is a wonderful midwife! (But, then again, I can say that about all the midwives at The Birth Center!)
For the next 2 hours I labored mostly in the tub and the baby continued to stay in the optimal position. In between contractions David and I talked and laughed with Katie. I was having a good time with this labor, but I was getting anxious to meet our baby! So around 10am, after 4 hours of no progress, I got out of the tub and Katie broke my water. That intensified my contractions, but they still felt milder than the back pain I had during my labor with Audra.
I remember looking at the clock at 11:13am and pointing out that that was the time that Audra was born (in the same room!). I still felt like I had a long way to go, so I was hoping that this baby would arrive before 2pm.
Around 11:30am I got back into the tub. Contractions seemed to come one on top of another and required all of my attention. I had many moments of internal doubt in myself during this time and was worried that I would be too tired to follow through with this! I even told Katie "I don't want to do this anymore". (I realized afterwards that this meant I was in the transition phase, but I definitely wasn't thinking clearly at the time.)
Suddenly I had the urge to push... and 4 minutes later, at 12:07pm, our baby was born in the tub! Midwife Katie and Nurse Peggy told me to reach down and grab hold of my child. David had a clear view of the baby and announced "it's a boy!!" and, for a moment, I thought he was teasing me. I had been almost certain that I was carrying another girl. (I'm sure God's been laughing at my planning for another girl since last summer. And I'm sure He knew that our family needed a boy, not another girl!)
I got out of the tub and sat on the bed, with David beaming with pride at his newest child. He said, "Say hello, Elijah David" and Katie said that we pick good names. A little while later we found out that Elijah weighed in at 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces and was measured at 20.5 inches.
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| Gazing at our son. Notice David's expression! I think I was still in shock that we had a boy. |
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| Sucking his index finger when he was only 1 1/2 hours old. |
We stayed at The Birth Center for another 7 hours and arrived home at 7:30pm that evening. When we walked in the back door Audra came running towards us saying "I'm 'cited!!!" She wanted to shower Baby Eli with hugs and kisses from the first moment she saw him. And Mom Cundey was delighted to meet him, also!
Welcome to our world, Elijah David!
